In the Sewers of Lvov

Friends:

In preparation for Passover and its powerful theme of "mei avdut l'cherut" -- from slavery to freedom -- I watched a DVD of the 2011 film "In Darkness."

Based on the non-fiction book, "In the Sewers of Lvov", the film chronicles the incredible survival of a group of Jews for 14 months underneath Lvov's streets with the help of a righteous Polish gentile, as the Nazis methodically, brutally exterminate the city's Jews, and take out revenge on some Poles.

This is not an easy film to watch -- it's certainly not G-rated -- but is crucial to understanding Nazism's horror, the need to act against evil, how precious freedom is, and the historical legacy that our colleague Meylakh Sheykhet deals with daily.

I borrowed the film from my public library system, and I'm sure it can be rented from Netflix or similar companies.  "In Darkness" was an Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film.

- Glenn Richter